Annual Hispanic – Latino Film Festivals in the US

Love to travel? Interested in film?

¡Vaya Film Festivals! Check out one of these events—each of them is doing great things for U.S.-based Latino communities. Here are our top picks for Hispanic/Latino film festivals in the US:

Chicago Latino Film Festival

The Chicago Latino Film Festival has been around for an impressive 30 years. This festival is organized by the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC) and sponsored by many national corporations and local Latino and Hispanic communities. What we love is that the films highlight the diversity of Hispanics and Latinos while breaking common stereotypes. It is mainly non-competitive, but does have an Audience Choice Award and the Gloria Award for outstanding contributions to Latino Arts. If you have a chance to get to Chicago on April 9th-23rd, you must attend this festival!

What started as just a festival has now turned into a non-profit organization called the Media Arts Center San Diego. The program’s mission is to, “Challenge the historical exclusion of under-represented communities from the media arts field, and distorted images of these communities by mainstream media.” We love the message that this festival is sending to the people of San Diego and surrounding areas!

Boston Latino International Film Festival

This annual event, known as “BLIFF,” is celebrating its 12th year. The films have three categories: feature films, short films, and documentary films. The mission of this festival is to:

Screen the best Latin American films

Show films that portray more accurate depictions of Latino and Latin American communities

Create intercultural awareness

Strengthen intercultural relations between ethnic and cultural groups

Provide an outlet for Latino writers, producers, and directors

If you are in the Boston area in November, check out their website for the multiple dates and locations for screenings.

Seattle Latino Film Festival

Seattle is beautiful and so is this festival! The stated mission of the not-for-profit Seattle Latino Film Festival is to “Celebrate the art and entertainment of Latin American cinema. We want to bring audiences and filmmakers together for an educational experience and support the magic of film-making as a part of Hispanic culture.” This film festival brings in guest judges and has several categories of films. They just wrapped up their 6th year, so this is a fairly new festival, making your support extra importante.

Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival

Our last pickfor best Latino film festivals is one that is held right in the heart of Hollywood, usually in October. This 5-day event includes screenings of the films, workshops, panels, and lectures. Their mission is to “Support and promote the development and exhibition of diverse cinematic visions by Latino filmmakers. We also want to promote awareness of the richness and diversity of our Latin cultures through cinema.”

It’s great to see what the film industry is doing to contribute to positive views of Hispanics and Latinos. Do you know of any other film festivals that are providing positive images of our communities? Tweet us if you do, or if you have a chance to attend one—we’d love to see pictures! @Hip­_Latina!